Beached

A weekend away can be so restorative, even if the "away" is actually still within the borough where we live. A friend organized a trip to the beach at Rockaway this past weekend, in part to celebrate the recent homecoming of another friend from Honduras. I always enjoy going to Rockaway as a day trip (it's a couple of hours on the subway though), but had never considered spending the night. Through the power of AirBnB, we got a lovely little surfer's paradise a block from the beach and with a charming backyard. It's amazing how much farther away Rockaway felt by the sheer act of spending a couple of nights there. But it also still lovely knowing on Sunday, we just had to hop a MTA bus back and enjoy a scenic drive through Queens to get home.

Beach friends!

There wasn't too much on our beach weekend agenda. Mostly making mojitos, cooking dinner (during the process of which, we may have set off the smoke alarm...but in our defense, who puts a smoke alarm right over the stove?), playing games, obsessively reapplying sunblock, listening to a 90s pop cover band that sounded suspiciously like Hootie and the Blowfish, and general merriment. We also eat a few tacos and arepas and watched the soccer game. It was exactly the sort of low key weekend that managed to feel longer than it was and yet still leave me refreshed and ready for Monday.

We tried to take pictures of the "super moon" but Sam's artsy picture of a streetlight came out better.

This is what breakfast at Rockaway Taco looks like. 

Me, taking all necessary sun precautions. 

A morning walk on the beach. 

Anyway now I'm back in town (or back in my proper part of Queens anyway), and it's cloudy and a bit rainy, but luckily it won't be so very long until my next summer getaway. Looking forward to it!